Real fights don't have rules. Real fights don't have referees to stop the battle when one person gets the upper hand. Real fights are not something you want to lose, when losing means you are seriously hurt or dead. Real fights, if you can't avoid them, are times when you must put your attacker down as hard and fast as you can. You don't fight fair, you do what you must to go home safe. That's where this DVD comes in.

Loren Christensen has more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement and has been fighting for more than twice that. He knows a ton about martial arts and fighting, and in this Paladin Press production of "Fighting Dirty: A `No Sweat' Guide to Hardcore Self-Defense Training" he teaches the dirty tricks needed to win a real fight.

Paladin's scene index makes it easy to find the chapter you want to study. Christensen broke his instruction into eight main parts with an introduction and conclusion as end caps. In this 108 minute DVD, Christensen instructions on blocking, striking, kicking, takedowns, breaking down the guard, grabbing, pinching, and tearing, using your environment and how to put it all together.

Make no mistake, even though Christensen has decades of martial art training under his multiple black belts, this DVD focuses on fighting dirty. You won't find many fancy moves here, just dirty basics. Palm heels, bottom fists, and slaps are the kinds of strikes you find here, not traditional martial art strikes. For kicks, you find kicks to the groin, shin scrapes, scoop kicks, stomps, and knee strikes; all easy, quick and dirty.

Paladin's production value is top notch. The sound is good, they use a well lit studio, and the camera angles clearly show what Christensen is teaching. And teach he does. I like that Paladin produces DVDs where the instructors teach to the camera. It is like having Christensen right there to walk you through his dirty techniques. If you and your training partner follow along with the DVD you will be able to learn these and incorporate them into your own training.

If you are looking for a DVD with practical self-defense techniques, this will be a great addition to your video library. I highly recommend incorporating Christensen's "Fighting Dirty" techniques into your self-defense arsenal.

Reviewed by Alain Burrese, author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks and the dvds: Hapkido Hoshinsul, Streetfighting Essentials, Hapkido Cane, the Lock On Joint Locking Essentials series and articles including a regular column on negotiation for The Montana Lawyer.

"Palm heels, bottom fists, and slaps are the kinds of strikes you find here, not traditional martial art strikes"

You seem to have a very odd understanding of traditional martial arts. I would say palm heels, bottom fists and slaps are amongst the most traditional of strikes in many if not most Chinese, Okinawan and Japanese systems. Anyway are there not enough DVDs offering this sort of thing already? And wouldn't it be better taught face to face? No one ever became deadly from watching a DVD...